The Tin-man

Prologue:

If you listen for the lower decibels of lighting a cigarette, you'll probably hear the tobacco crack under the orange embers. There I stood, under the half-ellipse entrance to the mosque. I took my first swig of smoke and felt my lungs choke as the rain poured outside, 3 inches in front of me.

The smoke is eating through my lungs. I can't help but fall onto my knees and cough out blood. Watching the rain wash your blood away is like seeing a second chance. With that in mind, I pull my trench coat tighter around me and take another puff.

My name is Bob Hefner. I have 10 minutes left to live and I'm going to spend it telling you my story. At any point, feel free to punctuate this dark and dreary tale by ripping out the pages and throwing them into a furnace.

Here we go.......

My life began the day my doctor told me that I had 48 hours left to live. A chronic lung disease caused due to smoking. I think the moment was intensified when I asked him how much time I had left and he consulted his wall clock. You’d think I had something to say about that. Well, my mind was never blanker. I can’t exactly remember how I reached home. I do remember sleeping though. YES, I had 48 hours to live and I decided to catch some shut-eye, just to warm-up.

I woke a different man. I had a resolution. I wouldn’t waste what little time I had left ……which was 36 hours to be exact. I set about to make a plan.

I would rectify all my wrongs! But, looking at the time constraints, that was an ambitious goal to hit. So I settled finally on 2 things:

One, make my ex-wife’s life a living hell. Give her a preview of whats going to come.
Two, Steal from the rich and throw a party! A Robin Hood of sorts.

So with my salvation in hand and a resolution to quit smoking, I donned my trench coat and cowboy hat. I looked at my house one last time and trudged down the muddy streets with my black boots. The night had another 3 hours before dawn cracked down on it. The rain blurred my vision. I needed help on this one and I knew exactly where to find it.

The funny thing about lightning is that it expands the moment. What I see in my minds eye is the lightning illuminated the smile that cracked my lips …and the bank that I was about to rob. I think its appropriate that, knowing I had only 35 hours left is what made me an insomniac.